Over the past couple of months, Chef Himanshu Taneja, culinary director-South Asia, Marriott International, has noticed a steady rise in his energy levels. He has also shed a few kilos and is able to concentrate better on the tasks at hand. “There was a time when it would take a lot of time for me to get into my morning mode. But these days, I’m up at 5 am, and I feel fresh. I also feel hungrier, but then again my metabolism is much better so the food gets digested faster,” he says. In November last year, Taneja took a plant-based plunge. When you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum, incorporating a meat-less diet can take a little getting used to. But its benefits outweighed the challenges, he asserts.

Chefs were asked to include ingredients such as amaranth, lotus stem, jackfruit, gucchi, gondhoraj lebu, kokum, colocasia, foxtail millet, gooseberry and nolen gur in the dishes. Pics/Bipin Kokate